A diverse (and glittering) crowd invades Wrigley for Lady Gaga

Fans were out to watch Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field on August 25, 2017. We captured their style for the event.

Chris HineChicago Tribune

For a few hours Friday night, Boystown was relocated a block west to Wrigleyville.

Glitter fluttered under the lights. Short shorts proliferated among the crowd like it was the 1980s. And pink hats — so many pink hats — dotted the outfield and the stands for Lady Gaga, who broke the tired string of all-male Wrigley Field concert headliners as the first woman to command the stage by herself.

“I have to say I’m sorry they haven’t had a woman here for 100 years,” Gaga said before launching into her song “Scheibe,” a club anthem you’d hear only at a 3 a.m. rager in Boystown, and a song that is about as far from other Wrigley headliners like Paul McCartney, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen as you can get.

The same goes for the crowd. A T-shirt and jeans audience it was not — unless you cut up the jeans or wore a shirt with one of Gaga’s several personas plastered across it. It was as if Halsted Street was shut down for the day.

Lady Gaga headlined Wrigley Field on Aug. 25, 2017 — the first woman to do so. Here's a look back at what draws the masses to the singer. (Chicago Tribune)

Lady Gaga headlined Wrigley Field on Aug. 25, 2017 — the first woman to do so. Here's a look back at what draws the masses to the singer. (Chicago Tribune)

So she probably stayed silent when at one point Gaga asked those who were a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community to make noise. A good portion of the crowd did. “Well isn’t that a blessing,” she said.

There were men in Cubs shirts and Gaga wigs. And every time you turned around, there was a pink cowboy hat, which Gaga sported on the cover of her latest album “Joanne,” while drag queens flaunted their feathers. Timothy Damon, from Highland Park, was a hit in the outfield before the show in a blue gown made of an Indian saree, which Damon decorated. Admirers lined up to snap a picture with him.

Damon marveled at the effort those who attended put in to express themselves through fashion, one of Gaga’s calling cards as an artist.

“I think it’s awesome that Gaga’s here,” Damon said. “I think it’s the first time ever we’ve seen something like this here.”

The Cubs have a reputation as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly franchises in all of sports. They have had the most “gay days” of any Major League Baseball team, according to the gay sports website Outsports.com. They can count an extra one for this season after Friday.

“I’m surprised with this being this close to Boystown they haven’t brought in a gay powerhouse before,” Lakeview resident Scotty Brown said.

Gaga’s performance Friday was welcome on a number of levels. Not only did it end an embarrassing streak of having all-male headliners at Wrigley, but also it comes just weeks after the Cubs’ rivals, the Cardinals, hosted a “Christian Day” at Busch Stadium. That event sparked controversy after the Cardinals brought back former player and noted opponent of LGBTQ rights Lance Berkman as a featured speaker. The team then denied a credential to Outsports.com, which wanted to cover the event.

But here was Wrigley in all its gay glory.

Lady Gaga came to Wrigley Field on Aug. 25, 2017 as part of her Joanne tour.

Lakeview resident Joe Donohue said he was attending the show with about “a gazillion people.” “Straight men, straight women all kinds of people,” Donohue said. “But I do have friends who are wearing high heels. I think they’re crazy. … If you see men tripping in dresses with high heels, please watch out.”

Donohue, who was sporting pink hair and glitter, said there was a shortage of glitter at the stores in Boystown before the show. He and some friends had to visit multiple locations before securing some.

Uptown resident Matthew Baldwin said his friends were partying in Boystown before the show. He was dressed without bells and whistles but did sport a pink hat that said “Make America Femme Again.”

“This brings a different element and different people to the neighborhood,” Baldwin said. “I like the mix of people here — all ages, all genders, all everything. I’ve always felt the Cubs had a very welcoming attitude, and I always love coming here. They chose a great artist to come, and you get this nice mix.”